To ‘Inspire children to take on life in a value-based manner‘ is the purpose of this competition, which is open to students of Omani Government and Private Schools – Arabic and Bilingual, as well as International and Special Education Schools. Photo - File

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To ‘Inspire children to take on life in a value-based manner‘ is the purpose of this competition, which is open to students of Omani Government and Private Schools – Arabic and Bilingual, as well as International and Special Education Schools. Photo - File

Muscat: The thirteenth SAI Group and Times of Oman’s ‘Spreading the Light Through Human Values’ Essay Writing and Poster Making Competition is set to take off, and in the process kindle the thought process and creativity of Omani school children. The event, supported by Ministry of Education, Oman, will be held on April 9 at Muscat, April 16 at Sohar, Ibri and Nizwa and April 23 at Sur, Salalah and Buraimi.

To ‘Inspire children to take on life in a value-based manner‘ is the purpose of this competition, which is open to students of Omani Government and Private Schools – Arabic and Bilingual, as well as International and Special Education Schools.

The contest encourages originality of ideas and expression, quality of content and depiction of human values. The suggested word limit for essays is 400 words for Group A and B and 700 words for Group C and D. The time limit is 90 minutes for essay writing and 120 minutes for poster making. Essays are to be written in English.

Evaluations will be performed by a panel of three judges. All essays will be judged based upon the relevance of their content, effectiveness of conveying human values, presentation, neatness and language. The posters will be judged based upon their creativity.

A brief write-up is found below for each topic, to provide a helping hand to the participating children. This is meant to offer some assistance to parents and teachers to discuss with or guide participating children. These hints can be developed or a new, but relevant approach to the topic is also welcome.

Group A: How To Be Happy and Make Others Happy (Grade 1 to 3)

If we smile at others, they feel happy and return our smiles. In the same way, if we are happy, people around us also become happy. We think we are happy if we have lots of wealth and costly materials. But this is not true. True happiness comes from our character and attitude. If we love our parents, they will be happy and shower their love on us. Love is the basis of a family and is one of the most important human values. Where there is love and happiness in the family, there will be harmony in society and peace in the nation. If we place limits on our desires, we can be happy with what we have. We can make others happy by practicing discipline, performing well in studies, helping people in times of need and accomplishing noble deeds.

Group B : Be a Good Friend To Get a Good Friend (Grade 4 to 6)

A friend in need is a friend indeed, goes a proverb. ‘Tell me your friend. I’ll tell you who you are,’ is another proverb. These tell us the importance of having good friends and being a good friend. Without good friends, our life will lose its charm. We should rush to the side of our friends when they need us most. True friendship is selfless. We also need to correct our friends when they do something wrong. Good friends are those who help each other and practice good values and habits. If we are good friends to others, naturally, we’ll have many good friends. As friends can make or break our lives, it is very important that we are very careful in selecting our friends and nurturing good friendships.

Group C: Value of Time (Grade 7 to 9)

Time and tide waits for none. Time wasted is life wasted. We should appreciate the use of time and utilise the time at our disposal productively. There are so many avenues available today to distract children, such as television, internet, mobile phones and video games. Addiction to these is a major cause of children wasting time. Children should draw up a daily timetable to include prayers, studies, physical exercises and games, as well as reading good books and newspapers. A right action should be done at the right time. Students tend to postpone various activities, such ascompletingtheir homework, assignments and preparation for exams. As a result, they are stressed when they face exams. As procrastination is the thief of time, proper planning and judicious use of time is the key to success. People who reached great heights are those who put in hard work and used their time effectively.

Group D: Effects of Media (Grade 10 to 12)

Media plays a major influence in our lives today. In earlier days, we had print media and limited television coverage. Today, we have numerous television channels and digital media carried across various gadgets. While all these help us to stay updated with the latest happenings, they also impact us with unwanted information and negativity, often disrupting harmony in the family and even spoiling people’s health. The drawing room turns into a war zone. Children should develop the habit of value-based discrimination and learn to be selective in their reading and viewing of programs. They should seek the guidance of parents and teachers in guarding themselves against the ill-effects of media and making the best use of informative materials. If children embrace human values,such as truth, right-conduct, peace, love and non-violence, they can make positive use of media and reject negative content without hesitation.

For further details, contact GSM: 95149226 or 92185310 or email: [email protected] or website www.saivaluesoman.org.